U.S. Treasury extends deadline for Small Business Lending Fund

4/11/2011

Banks and lenders looking to apply for the Small Business Lending Fund now have more time to do so, thanks to an extension granted by the U.S. Treasury Department.

The deadline was delayed from March 31 to May 16, the Phoenix Business Journal reports. The Treasury Department is also looking to expand the qualifications for the fund so that bigger banks and lenders can gain access to the funding.

As the source notes, the program has gotten off to a slow start, with only 600 banks requesting about $8.6 billion in capital. Still, the Treasury Department is optimistic that the program will be very beneficial to small business owners who are looking to expand or purchase new equipment but were unable to gain access to funding previously.

"The Small Business Lending Fund was created by the Small Business Jobs Act, which was signed into law last September. That legislation also allowed small businesses to refinance their commercial real mortgages through its 504 loan program," explains the Phoenix Business Journal.

The 504 program has also been tremendously popular among small businesses. For example, David Jensen, the owner of a small medical equipment repair company, told The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter that he was able to conserve capital and gain additional space through the 504 program.